CASTLE ROCK MEET:
As we plodded up to the crag it looked like a case of deja vu all over again – drizzle stopping play. We raced to fit in one route ahead of the expected precipitation. The rain held off. We did another route. It rained. There was talk of an early night. Then the sun came out. And stayed out. The sky turned blue. The rock dried. T-shirts replaced cags. All was well with the world – well, our tiny bit of it at least.
The usual routes got done – Gangway, Yew Tree, Via Media, Direct, and those short severes around the corner I can never remember the names of. Plus Matt and Bob made an ascent of Overhanging Bastion via the new finish.
Jonathan Coles produced a fine lead of Direct Route only to be let down by his seconds who did a fair bit of ‘hanging around’ – some bits of rock are just steeper than they used to be!
The gloom was setting in by the time we left. We did not go to the pub on account of the St. Johns-in-the-Vale road being closed.
The team was Johnny, Jonathan, Dave, Judith, Mark H, Bob and Matt, plus their guests, Robyn and Katherine.